Just Forget the World
by Scribbles-by-Kate
Summary: At the well after their reunion kiss, Belle and Rumple take things even further. RumBelle reunion smut, a 'missing' scene from 2.1 "Broken".


She's made herself comfortable, her head tucked under his chin, resting on his chest, her arms around his neck. She doesn't seem to have any plans to let him go any time soon. He doesn't want her to. Having her back has made him realise just how much he loves her, how much he needs her. Now that he's brought magic back, there'll be prices to be paid, his curse to deal with, and Belle…Belle is his shield against all that… If…if he can really have her…really keep her this time.

Belle burrows closer. He's warm and strong, and feels like home, something she hasn't known since she left him, since he made her leave… But he does love her after all: she knew he did. He was just afraid. She doesn't know why, doesn't know why he clung to his magic, but they're together now: everything's going to be fine.

Rumplestiltskin adjusts his hold and Belle looks up at him.

'Don't let go,' she whispers.

He shakes his head. 'No.' It's amazing to him that she wants him to hold her. He suspects he'll always be amazed by that.

She smiles, trusting him, and, gods, he does not deserve any of this, but he's selfish enough to want to keep it.

Belle wants to be closer, wants to be enveloped by him. It was so cold down in that cell. She knows she was down there a long time, and in Regina's tower before that, but a lot of the last twenty-eight years are blurry. It's only really the last year or or so that she was aware of time moving, aware of being cold and hungry, aware of needing warmth. Now she knows the warmth she needed was his.

That's why she presses closer now, why she wants to get nearer. It's as vital as breathing, this need for connection with him. She wants… Yes, she wants him, and they're together now, really together…

She moves quickly, giving him no warning, and steals his breath with her kiss. He clutches at her, swaying a little, and pulls his lips from hers.

'Belle…'

She shakes her head. 'Don't stop.'

He doesn't want to, but he knows he should. He needs to take care of her. She's been down in that cell for years: she's probably hungry, maybe weak… He's got to protect her, not…not take advantage of her.

'Sweetheart, we should stop,' he begs desperately, because he knows what his body wants, and it really is being very insistent about it now. He tries to pull away.

'No,' Belle says firmly. 'No, not yet. I've missed you so much, Rumple. Please: please kiss me again.'

His heart's racing. He can feel his resolve crumbling. She's so soft and beautiful…and light….and…she wants him, and _gods_ he wants her… No, he _can't_!

'You don't know what you're asking,' he says, shaking his head. He needs her so much, he fears he'll hurt her.

'Yes, I do,' she insists. ' _Please_ ,' she begs. 'I know you want to: I can see it in your eyes.'

'You don't know what you're asking,' he says again, almost angry, because his resolve is slipping away, and he has so much to reproach himself with already that adding hurting her to that list would be just another sign of how terrible he is, how selfish he is. As if he needs to be reminded!

'To be with the man I love,' she says gently. Why can't he see that?

'You should save that for your husband,' he insists, 'for a better man than me.' He must control himself: he _must_.

'I want no other,' she says. 'I want _you_ , Rumplestiltskin, just you. I love you.' And she gives him another joyful, teary smile, and he's utterly undone.

He thought she was dead, thought he would never see her again… But she's here: she's alive, in his arms, kissing and touching him, wanting to be with him. Gods, that's the best feeling!

He kisses her, fierce and hungry, like their kiss a moment ago. She wraps her arms tight around him, kissing back, trembling as his tongue strokes against hers. And, yes, this is what she wants, to consume, to be consumed, to share this joyful wonder at being together again. It's what he wants too, even though it's selfish, and she'll surely push him away in a minute.

The kiss slows, becomes melting and sweet and hot all at once. Belle trembles with desire. She can feel his body, tense under her hands. She can feel he's still holding back. What must she do to make him understand that this is what she wants?

She kisses him deeper, eagerly tasting him. Their first kiss was so short, and it was thirty years ago. She's lived off the memory all these years, but now he's here and she wants more: she wants it all.

'Make me yours, Rumple,' she breathes, as he kisses her neck.

He shudders, clutching her to him. Back in their land, her purity would be a great treasure, not to be treated lightly. It's somewhat less valuable here, but Belle doesn't know that, and yet she's giving herself to him freely…giving him her virginity…

'Please,' she whispers, having felt him go still.

'Let me take you home,' he suggests: 'let me—'

'Here,' Belle says, cutting across him. She doesn't want to wait. She's been waiting, hoping, for this day for thirty years. She's not waiting any longer.

Rumplestiltskin is incredulous, but also impossibly aroused. There's light in her for certain: he knows it because he's so drawn to her, and he wouldn't be if that light wasn't there, but it's not innocent. She's daring, bold, and, oh, gods, that's so intoxicating to him!

'Here?' he asks: 'really? You don't want a bed, comfort? It won't be—'

'It will be perfect,' she insists. 'Anywhere would be perfect, but we're here, and I don't want to wait. _Thirty years_ , Rumple!' Her eyes are bright with unshed tears.

He understands. The pain of it all, and the relief and the joy at being reunited.

'I thought I would never see you again,' he breathes, tearing up himself, moving with her as she crouches on the mossy ground.

'I'm here,' she breathes, clutching his lapel: 'I'm here, my Rumple.'

He kisses her, pulling her to him as they kneel on the damp grass. He must fix that, make it comfortable, but her hands sliding into his jacket distract him, and all he can do is hold her to him, his hands caressing her body, over the ratty clothes she's wearing. He must fix that too…

'Rumple,' she whimpers. She's pushing at his jacket, trying to get it off him.

Unthinking, he shrugs out of it. He's almost in a daze, feels as though he's dreaming. This…this can't be real. He's dreamed of her many times, of course, which was why he needed to touch her earlier, to be _sure_ she was real. And…oh, gods, this can't be a dream. He's really holding her, kissing her, hearing her little sighs…

Belle feels him start, feels his hands clutch at her. He's frozen, almost as if something's shocked him.

'What is it?' she breathes, looking up at him. He looks stunned.

'You're real,' he whispers, in the same tone as he did earlier, before she remembered him, when she was so confused by his reaction, his tearful promise of protection.

'Yes, I'm real,' she promises. 'I'm as real as anything, Rumple. Here.' She takes his hand and brings it up to hold in both of hers. 'See?'

'I thought you were dead,' he whispers, his voice breaking.

'And that's…that's why you never came for me,' she murmurs.

He nods, tears running down his cheeks. 'I would have if I'd known. I would have come for you, Belle.'

'I know,' she sobs, kissing him. 'I know you would.' She kisses him again, and it grows heated quickly.

He can't help himself now. He shouldn't do this, but he's helpless to resist. He will try to be careful, try not to hurt her; that's provided she doesn't push him away, which he's still expecting her to do, as willing as she seems now. Why would she want him? Why—?

'Rumple,' she whispers, touching his cheek. She can feel him tensing, holding back. ' _Please_ ,' she says again, desperate. She doesn't know how to make him understand. Must she scream it to the treetops?

'I want you to make love to me,' she says, because if he won't trust her actions, perhaps he'll trust her words. She never says what she doesn't mean, and he should remember that she's the one who decides her fate, no one else. She wants to be here, wants to do this with him.

'You can't take it back,' he tells her, fearing she'll regret giving herself to him.

She shakes her head. 'I won't want to. How can I make you understand? I've waited for this for thirty years. I was coming back to you when Regina caught up to me. I wasn't gonna give up on us, no matter how much you fought me. It was always you, Rumple. I was coming back!'

This is news to him. His eyes widen. This means… She was coming back… They could've… Things might have been so different…

'Oh, Belle,' he breathes.

She smiles. 'Now, will you stop stalling, please?'

He kisses her for an answer. Unfathomable as it is, she wants him. It'll still fall apart, probably, because he is who he is, and he wrecks things, but maybe…maybe he won't wreck this? Maybe not this time…

Thoughts fly from him as her hands touch him, smoothing and caressing gently. It's like magic, her touch: it seems to have the power to soothe away all care, and he's nowhere, now, but here. Nothing else is getting his attention, not until she's satisfied. If she wants him, then…then she'll have him. There's nothing else he can do, nothing else he wants to do.

Belle smiles, feeling him soften. He's not pulling away, not protesting: thank gods. She hadn't expected him to resist so strenuously, to be so chivalrous. It's charming, really, and tells her that, no matter what he may believe, what kind of power he may have, he's also a good man, and she trusts him. Yes, she does. There is much she doesn't know, but she trusts him, and he will trust her too, in time.

Rumplestiltskin is lost in her arms. He's never felt anything like this before. She once suggested he had once been a man and he corrected her, calling himself a monster, and he is, but in this moment, here, with her, he's just a man, in love with a beautiful woman, and he wants to be better than he was.

'Oh, Belle,' he breathes, catching his breath as she kisses his neck. 'Belle, I…'

'Hmm?' she murmurs, kissing his jaw, stroking her hand through his hair. 'Tell me,' she coaxes.

Instead of speaking, he catches her lips in a desperate kiss. She kisses back eagerly, smiling into it as he pushes the cloak the man who called himself Jefferson gave her off her shoulders. She goes to work on the buttons of his vest. His clothes here are so different, no more dragonhide or leather, but they do the same thing: they mask what he wants to hide, but he's not hiding from her, not now, and she smiles again, as he pulls the vest off himself.

He works on his tie himself, realising that some of his clothing will probably be odd to her. Tie discarded, he removes his cufflinks too, throwing them on the pile of his clothes. He reaches a hand back and passes it over his ruined ankle, bolstering it with magic so that it won't be too painful to walk after this. He doesn't want to be distracted by pain when his focus must be on Belle.

Belle has another cardigan-type thing on over a hospital gown. He peels that off, Belle pulls her arms free of the thing and they loop around his neck as she presses close. He rubs her back. The hospital gown is thin and worn, and he feels a brief flash of fury at Regina, but he'll deal with her later.

Belle's hands are close to his skin, and she's delighted. She wants to touch every part of him. The fastenings on his shirt open easily enough under her fingertips, and now she can feel his chest under her hands. His heart is beating so fast.

He groans at the feeling of her hands and his own hands caress her over the too-often-laundered gown. He must find something better for her to wear, something more fitting the lady she is: fine silks and wools. Later, though: he'll take her back to the shop and she can choose something. Now…or in a few moments, she won't be wearing anything…

Belle sucks in a breath. His hands are magical: his caress is heavenly. She wants to melt into him, wants him closer.

'Lie down with me,' she whispers.

Holding her to him, he passes his hand out over the mossy ground. The air ripples a bit.

'What did you do?' Belle wonders, eyes wide.

'Lie back and see.'

Curious, she does. 'Oh!' He's made the grass soft, but not with dew: it's just…soft. And it's warm, as though the sun had been shining on it all day. It's lovely.

Rumplestiltskin stares intently at her. He leans over her, taking her in.

She touches his leg, her hand resting on his thigh, just as it did at their first kiss. It's almost too much for him. He leans down to her, eager for her hands, her lips, and there are long moments where the only communication is sighs and moans.

Belle feels as though the last thirty years have melted away, and she knows that this is what they would have been together if she'd been able to convince him back then that their love is true. She can feel his body heat, his leg against hers. Instinctively, she spreads her legs wider to let him lie between them.

Rumplestiltskin moans. He can feel her heat through the hospital-issue stockings she's wearing. Oh, to be buried deep in her… And as if he wasn't already aroused enough…

Belle feels what she's sure must be his erection against her thigh. She takes a gulping breath. She's never felt anything like it before, but she isn't afraid. A little unsure, maybe, because she's never done this before, but not afraid. She does know how this is supposed to work, though. Books told her so much about the mechanics, and the maids in her father's castle told her things too. Well, she overheard the maids, because they would never talk about such things in front of her. She heard them talk sometimes when they didn't know she could hear them. They were fairly frank about intimate relations then. Mostly, she listened to them talk about how it _felt_ to be with a lover. She can understand what they meant now. She's happy and excited, and nervous, because it's her first time, and, mostly, she just _wants_ him.

'Show me what to do,' she requests.

He moans a little, but nods against her neck, kissing her.

'It can…it can hurt, the first time,' he tells her. 'I'll try not to,' he promises.

'I know,' she says. 'I trust you.'

Gods know why: he's done nothing to deserve it, but he nods, because Belle…Belle's one of the few remarkable people who actually tell the truth.

He kisses her, and, carefully, not wanting to upset her, his hands move up under the hem of the hospital gown.

Belle gasps as his fingertips brush her thighs, but she pulls him back to her when he begins to pull away.

'Don't stop,' she breathes.

Reassured, he lets his hands travel higher, and Belle kisses him fervently as his touch grows less cautious.

'Lift-lift your hips, Belle,' he requests, stuttering a bit. He can hardly believe this is happening.

She does. He curls his fingers around the top of her tights and pulls them down, her panties with them.

'Mmm,' Belle moans, and she smiles dreamily.

Rumplestiltskin pulls her shoes off her feet and draws the panties and stockings off, tossing them with their other things.

Belle's chest is heaving. He's beautiful, and he's undressing her. She wonders if she's dreaming. No. No, she couldn't dream something so elaborate, with sounds and smells, and him looking the way he does, so endearingly amazed.

She's almost naked. But for that hospital gown, she would be. He never thought he'd get to experience this with her.

Belle catches onto his open shirt, drawing him down to her. The kiss is intense, hungry. Belle delights in smoothing her hands over his chest. He growls when her fingertips trail lower down, and she catches her breath, heart pounding.

'S-sorry,' he breathes.

She shakes her head vigorously. 'I wasn't afraid. That-that was exciting.'

She's mesmerised as his eyes darken. She almost misses it when he calls her beautiful Belle. She flushes, and he smiles a bit, leaning down for another kiss, which she meets him in.

Rumple's hand caresses sensuously over her breast and down to her hip, and she shifts a bit, wanting… She's hardly sure what she wants, how to describe it… All she can think is relief: she wants relief, down there, where she's aching.

He longs to undress her completely, but first he kisses down her neck to her collarbone. He feels it's a bit too pronounced under the hospital gown, but he won't dwell on his anger right now. Her little breathy noises are distracting him anyway, and he moves down, kissing between her breasts, bringing his hand back up to squeeze her breast.

Belle's chest is heaving. If she could take off this garment she's wearing… She pulls at it.

'Let me,' Rumple whispers, 'please?'

'Yes,' she gasps, and she feels his hands on her legs…

Oh, gods, he's sliding them up, the cloth bunching up with the motion.

'Lift your hips again, sweetheart,' he coaxes, and she does, and then wriggles to help him pull the garment off her.

Rumplestiltskin looks down at her. Belle watches him, wondering what he's thinking. His expression is difficult to read.

What he feels is a mix of unworthiness, amazement, and anger. The anger is because she's too thin: he can see her ribs, for gods' sake! But the desire he feels, and the love he feels, pushes that down for now, and he concentrates on showing her his love and desire for her.

'Oh!' Belle cries out, when he leans down and puts his mouth on her breast. She moans, a trembling hand going into his hair as his hand caresses her other breast.

There's wetness between her legs. She felt it already, but there's a more of it suddenly and it makes her catch her breath. She wants to rub against something, wants to soothe this ache she's been feeling for a while now.

Rumplestiltskin doesn't think he'll ever get enough of her taste. Her skin tastes like nothing else, and she's so soft and perfect. He loves her little catching breaths as he brings her rosy nipples to taut peaks. He loves how her fingers clench in his hair as he swirls his tongue and nips with his teeth.

He knows very well he was never good at this. His wife wasn't impressed, at least. But Belle… Oh, beautiful Belle is flushed and panting, and all he's doing is suckling at her breast. Her response makes him feel bold, confident, and he kisses and licks the underside of her breasts now, intending to travel down her body.

Belle's chest is heaving. She can't string a sentence together. He's moving down her body and she quivers, having some instinct about where he's going. The maids back home would say things about a lover's tongue or fingers, and now she understands what they meant, or she thinks she does.

Rumplestiltskin kisses her hip and looks at her.

'It, uh, can be easier if you're somewhat prepared for what to expect,' he says. 'Can I touch you, Belle?'

'Yes,' she breathes, nodding. 'Yes, Rumple, I want you to. Please.'

He hears her eagerness and it excites him.

He kisses her bent knee. 'Just try to relax.'

Relax, he says, while he's kissing along the inside of her leg. As if she could relax when he's doing that, when his fingers are caressing her bottom, making her shiver down to her toes. How can she relax when she's so wound up? But she must try, so she makes the effort to loosen her limbs.

'That's it,' he murmurs, settling between her legs. He meets her eyes, and there's hunger and need in them…for _him_. He can still hardly believe this.

He couldn't stop now if he wanted to, though. The feel of her, and seeing her like this, exposed and trusting him with her body: it's intoxicating. Right now, he's not the Dark One, not a monster, not a beast: he's just a man, and the woman he loves wants him to make love to her, so he will.

He dips his head and Belle gasps as he licks along the crease at the top of her leg.

'Oh, Rumple,' she sighs.

He moves a bit, lifting her legs over his shoulders, settling himself, his hands holding her, lifting her a little. And then…

'Oh!' she cries, as his tongue parts her folds and laps at her. 'Ohhhh!'

The sounds she makes… She's really enjoying this. Oh, and so is he. She tastes like nothing else. He'll never get enough, not now.

Belle's hands reach down to pet and tangle in his hair. Gods, this is heaven! His tongue is so sensuous as it licks at her. And now…oh, gods! Now he's drawing shapes against her sensitive flesh with the very tip of his tongue.

He hums as she cries out, her fingers clenching in his hair. He can feel her now, rocking a little against the thrusting of his tongue, and he doesn't believe she knows what she's doing, but he thinks she's ready for more.

Belle whimpers in protest when he pulls his head back and lowers her back to their mossy bed. She meets his gaze as he leans up to look at her, but she doesn't get to say what's on her tongue before she feels him stroke her with his finger.

She bites her lip. Then she smiles at him when she sees the concern in his eyes.

'Touch me,' she breathes, reaching up to caress his jaw.

He leans down to her, following her hand as she lowers it, and kisses her.

She moans into it as his finger slides slowly into her, and then slowly out.

'That's nice,' she gasps.

He smiles and does it again, and he feels her clutching at him, quivering a bit.

Her eyes go wide as she realises what her body is doing.

'It's alright,' he whispers: 'your body knows what to do.'

She nods, trusting him. She breathes deeply as she feels her body react to what he's doing, crying out when he adds another finger. Now, he feels thicker, and she clutches at him, feeling something building inside her.

Rumplestiltskin strokes his thumb over her gently, slowly circling it around her clit.

Belle cries out, her hips working in earnest now. She can hardly believe her body's reaction, hardly believe that it knows what to do.

'Alright?' Rumple asks her.

'Yes,' she breathes. 'Please kiss me,' she requests.

He does, and she wraps her arms around his neck. She's shaking, but this is joy, not fear. She feels so alive.

'I love you,' she breathes, their faces close, breaths mingling.

'I love you too,' he says, and, gods, the way her eyes light up, it's wondrous.

He keeps his fingers moving inside her as he kisses down her body. He keeps his fingers moving as he puts his mouth on her again, licking as his fingers thrust.

Belle's body arches as her hips work, and she cries out again and again as his thumb presses more firmly on her clit and his fingers curl inside her and his tongue teases her. She's climbing ever higher towards a peak, and she knows that when she gets there, she will fall, and it will be beautiful.

And fall, she does. Rumplestiltskin feels her clench around him and then still, and then, oh, gods, she comes, breathless, saying his name, her face glowing. Oh, yes, that's perfect, and it's all he can do not to spill himself in his pants.

He looks at her as she comes back to herself. His heart thuds now, because, of course, he can't imagine that she won't regret this, but then Belle grabs a fistful of his shirt and pulls him to her.

The kiss is awkward, and he's sticky with her cum, but Belle doesn't seem to care. She's not so much the highborn lady now. No highborn lady he's ever met would condescend to let a man, or a woman, touch her like this, naked in the forest. No, Belle is something else, something wild and wonderful: she's a force of nature, and, gods, he loves her.

'That was wonderful,' she breathes, emotion welling up. 'Thank you, Rumple.'

He shakes his head. 'No, thank you. That you trust me in this, Belle, it means more than I can say.'

'I trust you,' she says. 'I want to feel you properly,' she says, shifting a little, eager for more. 'I want you inside me, Rumple.'

He drops his forehead against her shoulder, shuddering. Belle smiles and strokes his hair. She wonders if anyone's ever loved him before. She knows he had a son, but that's a different kind of love. She wants to hold him in the night, kiss him in the morning, chase all his troubles away. She wants to support him, help him, be the one he confides in.

'I love you,' he says, just as she's thinking the same about him. 'I need you, Belle.'

'I'm here,' she says, looking into his eyes as he looks at her. She strokes his cheek, smiling at him, and she's ready for him when he leans in for a kiss.

He needs her in every way: to help him, to save him, to love him. Oh, he knows it's too much to ask of her, but he also knows that if anyone could do all of those things, it's her.

He leans away and she reaches for him, making a noise of protest, but he's just shrugging out of his shirt. She watches, then, as he undresses completely. He doesn't meet her eyes as he does so, and he looks rather self conscious, but she'll chase that away.

'Rumple,' she murmurs.

He looks at her then, the tone of her voice catching his attention.

She looks him over, fascinated, and smiles.

'You're beautiful,' she says, and there's no lie in her voice. 'Come to me,' she coaxes, holding her arms out, reaching for him.

He goes to her, powerless to resist, and not wanting to anyway. He can feel her now, bare skin against his. She's real and warm and soft, and full of light.

'I want you,' she says, looking earnestly at him.

He kisses her, humming as she runs her hands down his back.

'I want you too,' he breathes. 'Oh, Belle, I've missed you.'

'Me too,' she says tearfully, 'but we're together now.'

He nods and kisses her again.

She draws her knees up as his fingers caress her, and she gasps at the feeling.

'Mmm, Rumple.' She can feel him, hard against her thigh. 'Please,' she whispers.

'You're sure?' he asks.

She squeezes his shoulder. 'I've never been more sure of anything. Make love to me, Rumple.' She stares at him, hoping he can see how much she wants this.

'I'll go slow,' he says. 'Tell me if it hurts.'

She nods and he lines them up, using her juices on his hand as lubricant. His heart is hammering in his chest and there's nothing else here but them, nothing else in the world that matters right now but Belle.

'I love you,' he tells her.

'I love _you_ ,' she returns with a smile, and gasps as she feels him enter her. It feels _more_ than his fingers, and her first instinct is to tense up, but he's going slowly, so she's able to get used to it and relax after a moment.

She feels like she's being filled up, and it's very welcome. There's a little discomfort, but she breathes through it.

'Belle?' he asks anxiously, watching her for signs of distress.

She rubs his shoulder. 'I'm fine,' she says. She smiles. 'It's ok, Rumple.'

He nods and moves again, and soon he's fully sheathed inside her, and it's glorious.

She catches her breath when he begins to pull out. He does almost all the way, and then he's back, and they both gasp at the feeling, and then smile at each other.

'You feel good, Rumple,' she tells him, cupping his cheek.

He turns his head and kisses her palm.

'You feel perfect,' he says, and his voice is rough and makes her shiver.

He moves again, more assured now, and his growing confidence excites her. She feels herself clench around him and he groans.

He stares into her wide eyes, amazed. 'Oh, Belle,' he whispers, 'oh, my precious, beautiful Belle, I never imagined… I never dreamed we could have this.'

'I always hoped,' she says, wrapping her legs around him as he thrusts again. 'I was coming back to you. I wanted to be with you.'

He kisses her and growls as her hips tilt up to meet his next thrust.

'Is that alright?' she asks breathily.

'Yes,' he growls. 'Belle, you've no idea how good you feel, so warm and snug around me.'

She smiles. 'You feel wonderful.' And she gasps as he grinds against her.

She tilts her head back, crying out, and he kisses and licks her exposed throat. Her skin tastes like nothing else and he'll get addicted. Better addicted to her than to magic, the reasonable part of his mind supplies, and he knows it's not wrong.

Belle nudges him, trying to get to his lips, to kiss him deep and long until they're both breathless. He obliges, of course, and they move together as they kiss, spiralling higher and higher.

Belle can feel herself approaching that precipice again. Not just yet, though: she wants to hold onto this moment for as long as she can. She runs her hands down his back, feeling his skin and the way his body moves. She feels him inside her, connected with her, their bodies just knowing what to do. She feels the heat of his body, the weight of it on hers, the strength, and the gentleness. She reaches for another kiss and runs her fingers through his hair, smiling at his moan. So, the powerful sorcerer _is_ a man after all: she knew it, and she smiles again at the knowledge that she can peel back his layers.

Rumplestiltskin is holding onto the moment too. She is warm and soft and gentle beneath him, and the way she welcomes him, moves with him: it's nothing he's ever known. He wants to hold onto it forever. He plunders her soft mouth and she lets him, clinging to him, her body clutching at him, her heels digging into his arse, urging him on.

She was right when she called his bluff all those years ago. He told her power meant more to him than she did, but it was a lie. Of course it was a lie. He was terrified to let her in. He's still terrified to do that, but, oh, he feels a little braver here, in her arms, and if she could hold him forever, maybe, eventually, he'd be a good man again, a man who deserves this love she's giving him.

'I love you, Belle,' he breathes earnestly.

She smiles, radiant and trusting. 'I love you too.' She kisses him sweetly.

They keep moving together, both delighting in the rhythm they've managed to find.

'So good, Rumple,' she breathes.

'So beautiful,' he returns, kissing her again. He tries twisting his hips on the next thrust and the way her body clutches at him makes him gasp.

'Rumple!' she cries. She's at that precipice now and there's no going back. 'Oh, Rumple,' she moans, feeling his thrusts get faster.

'Yes, sweetheart,' he pants. 'Is it good? Tell me how it feels.'

Belle shudders as she feels herself break.

'Ah, it's wonderful,' she breathes. 'Rumple, Rumple, mmm…'

'Gods!' he cries, unable to hold on as she clenches around him. He lets go and they cry out together.

They stare at each other, breathing hard as they ride out their orgasms together. Belle smiles dreamily and raises a trembling hand to his cheek as she comes back to earth.

'That was _wonderful_ ,' she says earnestly.

He kisses her. ' _You're_ wonderful,' he says, burying his face in her neck.

Belle hugs him, smiling. They're only just beginning. The thought that they can do this again, that they can be together, makes her so happy she could fly.

He kisses her neck and leans up to look at her.

'Alright?'

She caresses his cheek. 'Yes.'

He smiles. 'Come on: I'll take you back to town,' he says.

'And we can be together,' she says.

He nods, his smile tearful now. 'Yes.'

He waves his hand to clean them up and dress them again, and then holds his hand out to help her stand.

She leans into him and smiles, and they walk together, but before they leave the clearing, she looks back at the place by the well where they made love. Happiness bubbles up in her and she bites her lip and then looks up at Rumple, who stares back at her amazed.

'Oh, Belle,' he breathes, giving in as she reaches for another kiss. She smiles into it and then tucks herself against his side and walks with him through the forest, ready to begin a new chapter with him.

 **The end! Thanks for reading :)**


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